Van Persie, Sneijder dealing with pain

Fernando Duarte

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Netherlands striker Robin van Persie has once again become a source of concern for manager Louis van Gaal after complaining of knee pain during the team's Saturday morning practice forced the technical staff to take the striker to a Rio clinic for exams.

An instrumental player in Van Gaal's plans in Brazil, where the Dutch have been drawn in tricky Group B alongside Spain, Chile and Australia, Van Persie missed out two months towards the end of the Premier League season because of the injury suffered during Manchester United's win over Olympiakos in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League in March.

Although the player declared himself fit just a couple of days ago after being withdrawn at halftime in the Netherlands' warm-up game against Wales in Amsterdam, concerns remained and RVP himself admitted to some groin discomfort.

In a recent interview to Dutch newspaper "De Telegraaf", the Manchester United man said he had felt no twinges in the knee since the injury healed. "And that is several weeks now," added the player.

Another source of concern for the Netherlands seems to be Wesley Sneijder. The player complained of ankle pains during Saturday's practice and did not take part in a fitness session with his teammates at a gym near their Ipanema hotel.

Sneijder was also spared the mobbing of a crowd who followed the players around. Former Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt was surrounded and had to pose to at least 20 selfies before finally being wrestled by security into the gym building.